Fantasy Hockey Post Mortem

May 31, 2008 10:00pm CDT

Minnesota Wild, (44-28-10), 3rd place

FORWARDS

Marian Gaborik's wonky groin held up all year, and the fantasy owners that took a chance on him were rewarded with the Slovak sniper's finest season to date. Not only did he finally crack the 40-goal barrier with 42 tallies, Gaborik also posted career highs in assists (41), points (83), and plus/minus (+17) and nearly beat his previous best in PIM (64), PP goals (11), game-winning goals (eight), and shots on goal (278). Even though he did miss five games, it's a season like this that Gaborik (and fantasy owners) desperately needed to restore confidence in the young forward. Needless to say, Gaborik led the Wild in several offensive categories, but Pierre-Marc Bouchard (13 goals, 50 assists, 63 points) and Brian Rolston (31-28-59) had solid seasons as well and are reliable mid-to-late-round draft picks. Both were eligible at multiple forward positions, both were threats on the power play (25 PP points for Bouchard, 28 for Rolston), and both played in all but one of the Wild's games. Rolston, like Gaborik, was also tied for sixth in the NHL in game-winning goals with eight. Pavol Demitra, on the other hand, was a major bust, playing in only 68 games and scoring just 54 points (15 goals, 39 assists). He hasn't played a full season since he was with St. Louis in 2002-03, the year he scored 93 points, and he and Gaborik haven't been the dynamic duo many expected them to be when he came to Minnesota two years ago. Mikko Koivu (11-31-42, +13), Eric Belanger (13-24-37), and Mark Parrish (16-14-30) were the only other Wild forwards to crack 30 points, but none of them really belonged on most fantasy rosters. LW Aaron Voros earned a look in many fantasy leagues because of his value as a points-PIM man: he had seven goals and seven assists for 14 points to go along with 141 PIM. Resident enforcer Derek Boogaard played only 34 games and as a result only managed 74 PIM.

DEFENSEMEN

Brent Burns (15-28-43), a converted right winger, finished among the top 15 in NHL scoring by defensemen, and his 15 goals tied him for sixth among all blueliners. He also played in all 82 games for Minnesota, finished +12 on a team riddled with minus players, racked up 80 PIM, notched 19 points on the power play, and scored four game-winning goals: not half bad for a relatively unheralded 23-year-old. His name isn't sexy yet, but it will be soon, so take note before everyone else does. Kim Johnsson (4-23-27) and Kurtis Foster (7-12-19) were really the only other fantasy-relevant defensemen here, partly because Keith Carney (1-10-11 in 61 games), Petteri Nummelin (2-7-9 in 27 games), and Sean Hill (2-7-9 in 35 games) missed so much of the year.

GOALIES

Niklas Backstrom, the 30-year-old second-year NHLer, got the majority of the Wild's starts with 57, but backup Josh Harding earned the 25 others and had stretches of solid play. Overall, Harding went 11-15-2 with a 2.94 GAA, .908 SV%, and one shutout, good enough to be perhaps a third goalie on a weaker fantasy team. Still, he never really seriously threatened Backstrom for the starting job, as Backstrom has been one of the best in the business during his short time in the league. In 57 starts this year, he was 33-13-8 with a 2.31 GAA, .920 SV%, and four shutouts. Though none of these numbers put Backstrom in the top five in the league, they were all top 10, showing Backstrom to be a very solid goalie across all categories. Just beware of one thing, though: Harding is a good backup, perhaps better than most of Backstrom's owners would like, and Backstrom probably isn't going to be starting 70 games a year like Henrik Lundqvist or Miikka Kiprusoff.

Fantasy MVP: Marian Gaborik

Fantasy Flop: Pavol Demitra


San Jose Sharks, (49-23-10), 2nd place

FORWARDS

Big Joe Thornton (29-67-96) once again flexed his offensive muscles, leading the NHL in assists for the third year running and finishing fifth in overall scoring. You can't really get a much more bankable player than Thornton, who played in all 82 games for the Sharks, had one of the best plus/minuses on the team at +18, collected 37 PP points, and scored five game-winners. Imagine what heights San Jose might have reached if the supporting cast of forwards had played up to its potential; that means you, Patrick Marleau and Jonathan Cheechoo. The pair were easily two of the biggest busts in all of fantasy hockey this season. Marleau (19-29-48) saw his offensive output plummet by 30 points from 2006-07, and his numbers (which included a team-worst (-19) plus/minus) would have been much worse had he not warmed up somewhat in the second half of the season. It would seem that he has nowhere to go but up. The same goes for Cheechoo (24-13-37), who had his lowest single-season offensive totals since his rookie year in 2002-03. Both his goal and assist numbers have decreased in a big way since his Rocket Richard Trophy-winning campaign two years ago, and although Cheechoo is obviously a very talented goal-scorer and all-around great hockey player, maybe it's time to start wondering if that big season in 2005-06 was the exception, not the norm. LW Milan Michalek (24-31-55) saw a decline in his output, as well, registering only 55 points to last season's 66, but his plus/minus (+19), shots on goal (233), and game-winning goal (eight) totals were all superb. Young guns Joe Pavelski (19-21-40), Devin Setoguchi (11-6-17), and Steve Bernier (16-16-32) were good but not great, and Bernier was eventually sent to Buffalo for Brian Campbell. Jeremy Roenick surprised everyone by scoring 33 points (14 goals, 19 assists) and amazingly finished second in the NHL in game-winning goals with 10, despite scoring just 14 times overall.

DEFENSEMEN

The Sharks were blessed with one of the best defense corps in the league, and Campbell, acquired from Buffalo at the deadline, led the pack. As if scoring 43 points in 63 games with the Sabres wasn't enough, Campbell also tacked on 19 more in just 20 regular season games in San Jose, and his 62 total points (eight goals, 54 assists) were tied for third best among all defensemen. His plus/minus wasn't great (+8), and he doesn't take many penalties (just 20 PIM), but he sure brings home the points, including 33 on the power play. After Campbell, Craig Rivet (5-30-35) was the next highest-scoring Sharks D-man, and his 104 PIM and 20 PP points made him a popular free agent pickup. The same goes for Doug Murray (1-9-10), who only had 10 points but gained attention for his +20 and 98 PIM. Matt Carle (2-13-15, -8) had a terrible year compared to his 42-point 2006-07 campaign, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (2-12-14, -12) similarly saw his production dip by 12 points. Even Sandis Ozolinsh (3-13-16, -11) was brought in to help out with the offense, but he didn't have much of a positive impact, as might have been expected.

GOALIES

Evgeni Nabokov started the first 43 games of the Sharks' season and went on to start in 77 total, tied with Martin Brodeur for most in the league. Nabokov was nothing less than a stud all year, finishing with a 46-21-8 record, 2.14 GAA, .910 SV%, and six shutouts. He led the NHL in wins, was fourth in GAA and third in shutouts, and at one point during February and March he won 10 straight games. With a guy like Nabokov manning your net, you don't really need a backup, and the likes of Brian Boucher, Thomas Greiss, and Dimitri Patzold, though they played fine as a whole when they did play, won't become fantasy relevant any time soon.

Fantasy MVP: Evgeni Nabokov

Fantasy Flop: Jonathan Cheechoo